The Pollution Solution

By: Nancy Jeffries

Posted: April 2, 2007, from the April 2007 issue of GCI Magazine.

Science and skin care have become inseparable. Consumers want healthy, glowing skin, and technological advances are meeting this demand. Products that reduce under-eye puffiness, eliminate dark circles, minimize pores, even skin tone and enhance clarity have prompted research in new materials, delivery system synergies, plant extracts and functional actives. Skin care products can no longer satisfy by merely repairing the damage done. Just as technology marches ever forward, expectations rise and evolve as well. Products are now targeting the causes of skin damage: the myriad environmental pollutants of which skin is a constant victim. The trend, which drives technological advancement in the skin care category, is to provide advance defense systems and trigger positive changes against current conditions.

Protecting DNA from PollutionThe scientific community is taking a hard look at the effects of pollution and electromagnetic waves in the environment. Toxic aldehydes, released as gas in the atmosphere and generated primarily by atmospheric pollution, are a major constituent of environmental pollution, according to Christophe Paillet, director of development and communications, Exsymol. Toxic aldehydes form directly on the skin as endogenous aldehydes.

“In contact with living tissue, these molecules are able to react on the majority of the amino acids and, thus, deteriorate the proteins (and) the cells,” said Paillet. “(This) can even lead to significant modification of DNA. We have studied the mechanisms of toxic aldehydes using adapted experimental models.”

Exsymol designed antioxidant materials, Exsy-Arl and Alistin, which include a number of “pollution-oriented peptides.”